This savory, Dutch pancake is a delicious way to add protein to breakfast!

Disclosure: I was asked to participate in Davidson’s Safest Choice Egg’s Nutrition for Life campaign. I was compensated for writing this post. Opinions are my own.

Believing a single food will protect you from disease is like believing in unicorns; they don’t exist. Your health depends on the combination of your genes and your lifestyle. Taking care of yourself is a MUST and should include eating right, exercising daily and not smoking. Safest Choice Eggs agrees a healthy diet and exercise go hand-in-hand. As a matter of fact, they want to help jump start your 2015 health and fitness goals with an awesome Nutrition for Life campaign to kick off the New Year! I am proud to be a partner and together, we want You to WIN! Every small step toward your goal counts. Take one step at a time. Step one (also my first tip to preserve muscle): Eat regular meals containing 20 to 30 gram of protein about every 4 hours.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know I love muscles. You also know the 10 reasons why you should care about muscle maintenance. But are you doing everything YOU can to preserve YOUR muscles? Are you feeding your body with a steady intake of fuel throughout the day in the form of protein to manufacture lean tissue?

If you’re like most Americans, your protein intake is skewed. In other words, you don’t eat much protein at breakfast, you eat a little more at lunch and you load up in the evening. Sound familiar?

So what’s the benefit of spreading protein intake throughout the day (vs loading up at one meal)? It allows the body to effectively build muscle and other proteins. Small frequent feedings of protein are better for muscle- allowing for maximal muscle protein synthesis. It’s also helpful if you’re aiming to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. Studies show that protein increases satiety and including about 20 grams in the morning possibly reduces caloric intake for the rest of the day.

Start shaping up breakfast with the power of protein. (I will be sharing more ways to spread protein throughout the day in upcoming posts.) But for today, the focus is breakfast! My savory Dutch pancake made with Safest Choice Pasteurized Eggs is not only a victor when it comes to taste; one serving provides 20 grams of protein. SafeEggs are my choice for a high quality protein and they also provide iron, vitamins A, D, E choline and antioxidants. Not to mention the peace of mind I get with naturally pastuerized eggs, there is NEVER a risk of salmonella.

So stop chasing unicorns, and strive to take the first step to better health by eating breakfast and including dietary protein. Try this recipe or discover other ways to enjoy SafeEggs.

High Protein Dutch Pancake

serves 4

by Diane Boyd

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter, melted

4 scallions, whites and greens separated

4 whole Safe Choice pasteurized eggs

1 cup nonfat milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 cup low fat shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

4-5 slices Canadian bacon, sliced lengthwise into thin strips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Chop scallion whites. Add melted butter and chopped scallion whites to a 10 inche cast iron skillet. Place in oven and heat until very hot. Swirl skillet around to evenly coat bottom and sides of skillet.

2. Meanwhile, slice scallion greens into long slivers and place them into a bowl filled with cold water. (They should curl up and be prefect for garnishing your Dutch baby when it is finished.)

3. In a blender, combine eggs, milk, flour, salt and smoked paprika.

4. Remove hot skillet from oven. Pour in batter. Top with half of cheese and return to oven for 25-30 minutes.

5. In a small fry pan, sautee Canadian bacon.

6. Remove Dutch pancake from oven when edges are crispy and center is fluffy.

Ready or not, here comes the 2013 holiday season! What are you planning on starting with first, baking, decorating, shopping or partying? How about making some DIY holiday gifts? This month the Recipe Redux is here to help with the theme Adding Merriment to Mixes. Our challenge is to show you how to make a shelf stable DIY gift right in your own kitchen. From the ingredients of the mix to the packaging of the finished product, we will help you spread some love from your kitchen.

I am stoked about this theme; it has such great versatility and allows you to give something from your kitchen that doesn’t have to be gobbled up right away. Besides, how many cookies, cakes, and candies can we consume in the month of December anyway? Picking just one DIY item proved to be more difficult than I originally thought; there are so many fun items to make it’s hard to narrow down to just one! I considered cake mixes, cookie mixes, and hot chocolate mixes. But I ended up choosing something on the other end of the spectrum, a DIY gift for the fitness enthusiast! It’s a 32 oz. sport bottle, packaged with ingredients to make a beverage appropriate for recovery after a bout of resistance training (sleeve of Lemonade Crystal Light and a ‘to go’ pack of BiPro unflavored whey protein). Because this beverage is most effective consumed within 30 minutes after training , I’ve included a wire mixing ball to the package by tying it into the ribbon.

Here’s a note you can add to the sport bottle with directions for mixing and using:

So how did I go from something sweet and satisfiying to something that offers the benefits of maintaining and/or building muscle? When the Recipe Redux posted the November DIY gift theme I was working on this video: Mazimize Strenth Gains with Nutrition. I couldn’t help myself from thinking my post resistance recovery beverage makes great DIY gift! For those of you questioning the merriment side of this, your gift recipient’s merriment will be transcended by their new looks.

Be sure to check out all of the other DIY mixes at the bottom of this post for everyone on your gift giving list!

What kinds of gifts do you give to the fitness enthusiast?

BiProUSA sent me complimentary samples of their product. I was not expected to post a review and I am not being compensated for my time.